WASHINGTON—U.S. Representative Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) released the following statement after the House passed the Republican budget bill today on a party-line vote of 218 to 214. The legislation now heads to the President’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.
Stanton’s statement reads as follows:
“This is a gut punch to the people of Arizona. Republicans’ budget bill is a giveaway to the wealthiest Americans and largest corporations at the expense of middle and working class families.
“Republicans are slashing federal funding for AHCCCS, Arizona’s largest and most effective anti-poverty program, and stripping more than 350,000 Arizonans of their ability to see a primary care doctor. With the same pen stroke, they’re making the largest cuts to food assistance in U.S. history—kicking over 73,000 Arizonans off SNAP and putting nearly 50,000 more at risk of losing these lifesaving benefits.
“For all Arizonans, out of pocket health care costs are going up. This ugly bill pushes Arizona hospitals and health care systems off a financial cliff, forcing them to lay off staff, turn people away, or even close their doors entirely.
“And the bill wipes out tens of thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs in Arizona’s clean energy industry.
“This thousand-page bill was negotiated behind closed doors and with zero attempt at partnership with Democrats. And there’s no credible claim that this is fiscally responsible. It balloons our national deficit by more than $3 trillion.”
H.R. 1 Contains Tax Reforms that Benefit the Wealthy at the Expense of Middle Class
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Poor families lose money. The average household in the bottom 20% (people earning under $13,350) would have $700 less in their pocket every year because of tax, Medicaid, and SNAP cuts.
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The richest get huge gains. The top 1% (people making over $649,000) would get an extra $29,585 a year, and the ultra-wealthy top 0.1% would get over $100,000 more every year from tax breaks.
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Wealth shifts upward over time. In 10 years, the richest 0.1% will be receiving an average $309,000 annual tax cut.
H.R. 1 Slashes Medicaid in Arizona
Arizona’s Medicaid program (AHCCCS) covers 2.1 million people, including 754,600 children, 194,040 seniors, and 172,480 people with disabilities.
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More than 350,000 Arizonans Could Lose Coverage. Over 2 million Arizonans are covered by Medicaid (AHCCCS). According to an analysis by the United States Joint Economic Committee, 365,984 Arizonans could lose coverage.
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Rural hospitals could lose over half of their net income. The Senate-passed bill would slash $930 billion from Medicaid nationwide—the largest cut in the program’s history—and devastate rural health care across Arizona.
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Five Arizona hospitals are at risk of closing entirely. Page Hospital, Winslow Memorial Hospital, Copper Queen Community Hospital, Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital, and Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center could be forced to shut their doors, according to University of North Carolina researchers.
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Cuts would hurt all patients, not just those on Medicaid, and devastate Arizona’s economy. “Anytime you jeopardize a third of your payer base, you will have a significant impact,” said Neal Jenson, CEO of Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center in Globe. “The ripple effects of cuts to Medicaid funding are substantial. Every $1 billion cut in federal Medicaid funding is projected to cost Arizona 36,000 jobs and $3.7 billion in economic activity,” said Robert L. Meyer is president and CEO of Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
H.R. 1 Guts SNAP in Arizona
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Over 73,000 Arizonans are at risk of losing their food assistance. This includes 37,000 older adults (ages 55–64) and 37,000 parents and caregivers of school-age children who would be newly subject to SNAP’s rigid work requirements.
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In all, some 127,000 Arizonans could see their food benefits reduced. Entire families, including children, would be impacted if a caregiver loses eligibility.
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Children, seniors, and people with disabilities face disproportionate harm. Many would be caught in red tape, even if they are already working or should qualify for exemptions.
H.R. 1 Cuts Arizona’s Booming Clean Energy Economy – and With It, 69,000 Jobs
Federal tax incentives created under the Inflation Reduction Act have created historic investments in economic and workforce development around Arizona. Through growth in energy, advanced manufacturing, and other improvements in supply chains and innovation, these federal investments are growing and maintaining the energy and tech economy.
The impacts of H.R. 1 in Arizona include:
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Risking $58 billion in potential, existing, and announced private-sector investment in Arizona and 69,000 existing jobs, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority. Arizona has gained over 18,000 clean energy jobs since the creation of the clean energy credits being gutted by Republicans.
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Risking 134 economic development projects statewide, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority.
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Raising annual electricity bills 11.4% per household by 2029 with the repeal of credits, according to the Clean Energy Buyers Association.
H.R. 1 Adds Trillions to the National Debt
According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “The level of blatant disregard we just witnessed for our nation’s fiscal condition and budget process is a failure of responsible governing. These are the very same lawmakers who for years have bemoaned the nation’s massive debt, voting to put another $4 trillion on the credit card.”
The nonpartisan group also found that H.R. 1:
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Adds $4.1 trillion to the national debt. This is the largest debt increase from any reconciliation bill in U.S. history, and the cost rises to $5.5 trillion if temporary provisions are made permanent. The bill also explodes interest costs to nearly $2 trillion per year by adding debt and pushing up interest rates.
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Accelerates Social Security and Medicare insolvency. The bill moves up the projected insolvency date for both programs to 2032, putting seniors’ benefits at risk.
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Relies on budget gimmicks to hide true costs. Fantastical growth projections and arbitrary expirations mask the full deficit impact, which independent experts warn is hundreds of billions higher than advertised.